OPSWA High School Football Notebook Week 7
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Three more weeks.
That is all that is left in the 2022 high school football regular season as teams from all around the state have just a few more chances to make final pushes towards league titles and playoff spots.
There are plenty of players who will be instrumental for their teams in the final three weeks of the season and they also put up impressive performances in Week 7. Let's check them out with this week's OPSWA High School Football Notebook
Sparta Highland running back Dane Nauman ran for 308 yards and five touchdowns on 39 carries in a 44-20 win over Shelby. It was his third 300-plus yard game this season and fourth of 200 yards or more. He has yet to post a sub-100-yard game this year, and now has 196 carries for 1,579 yards and 20 rushing touchdowns for the season.
The Mansfield Senior Tygers had just 17 passing yards in a 27-20 win over Ashland as they piled up 290 yards on the ground and scored a defensive touchdown when Elias Owens returned an interception 43 yards for the score. Zyion Brown ran for 122 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries to help the Tygers improve to 5-2 on the year.
The Crestview Cougars picked off three passes in a 37-7 win over South Central including a pick-6 by Caden Cunningham. The Cougars now have 11 interceptions in their first seven games of the season and are 7-0 and the lone remaining undefeated team in Richland County. The Cougars also recorded a safety on a sack by Owen Barker giving the defense eight points scored in the win.
The Clear Fork Colts scored the final 28 points in a 56-21 win over Pleasant to remain undefeated in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference. Quarterback Victor Skoog threw for 233 on 11-of-17 passing with two touchdowns, both to Jay Jackson who had five catches for 138 yards. Skoog also ran for 119 yards on 12 carries and a TD. The Colts are still tied for first place in the league.
Badin junior quarterback Alex Ritzie threw four first-half touchdowns and finished with 19-of-24 completions for 288 yards in leading the Division III’s top-ranked Rams to a 42-14 demolishing of Alter. Two of Ritzie’s touchdown passes went to senior Braedyn Moore, who totaled four receptions for 118 yards. Senior running back Carter Russo also went over the century marked with 152 rushing yards on 13 carries and a score. The win kept Badin undefeated at 7-0.
Middletown defeated Colerain 20-18 on Friday for the first time since Oct. 3, 2008, a string of 12 games as there were two years (2010 and 2014) the teams did not play each other.
Fairfield junior quarterback Talon Fisher completed 12-of-19 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 123 yards and a score in leading the Indians to a 34-14 win over Hamilton. Fisher’s three touchdown throws went to three different receivers - Michael Figgins, Juseters Fataki and Noah King.
For the second straight week, Edgewood senior Tavionne Crosby has rushed for more than 100 yards and multiple touchdowns in a game. On Friday against Northwest, Crosby totaled 19 carries for 134 yards and two touchdowns as the Cougars ran away with the victory 48-12. The week before, Crosby crossed into the end zone five times and ran for 110 yards in Edgewood’s 47-18 rout of Mount Healthy. For the season, Crosby has 689 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Cougars. Junior Braden Sullivan also had a big night for Edgewood. He caught a pair of touchdowns and ran for another and had a combined 154 yards of offense in the win.
Senior Jaye Warren had a monster game for Hamilton Ross rushing for 226 yards and two touchdowns in leading the Rams to a 28-0 win over Southwest Ohio Conference rival Talawanda on Friday. The 226 yards were a career-high for Warren, whose previous high was 197 yards in a Week 1 win over Wilmington this season.
Monroe senior Elijah Jackson ran for 220 yards on 23 carries and scored three touchdowns as the Hornets shutout Southwestern Buckeye League rival Franklin 35-0 on Friday. It was the second time this season Jackson has rushed for more than 200 yards. He went for 211 on a loss to Western Brown in Week 3.
Running backs Exzaviar Moody and Keegan Weiss combined for nearly 300 yards rushing and five touchdowns in leading Ansonia to a 44-17 win over National Trail on Friday. Moody led the ground attack with 188 yards and two scores, while Weiss totaled 109 yards and three touchdowns.
Freshman quarterback Brody Morton completed 13-of-15 passes for 330 yards and four touchdowns as Preble Shawnee knocked off Tri-County 54-13 in a Western Ohio Athletic Conference matchup on Thursday night for its third consecutive win. Senior Malechai Stephenson caught all four touchdown passes (from 49, 35, 49 and 64 yards) and finished with seven receptions for 243 yards. He also had a rushing touchdown in the win.
Xenia's Trei'Shaun Sanders ran for 265 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries, and Tremell Wright made all five of the team's receptions for 132 yards and two TDs as the Bucs' survived a scare at Vandalia Butler 35-20 to remain undefeated.
Jay Kidd ran for 186 yards, his first ever 100-yard rushing performance, on 18 carries and two touchdowns for Fairborn, but Stebbins won 35-21. The Indians secured the win on a 46-yard pick-six by Lavell Lyles in the final seconds.
Elijah Brooks of Bellbrook only needed nine carries to gain 176 yards and score two touchdowns in the 42-0 win at Middletown Masion. Tanner Stewart also had 140 yards on just three carries.
Cedarville has an over-.500 record more than two games into a season for the first time in nine years after defeating previously unbeaten and D-VII No. 2-ranked Springfield Catholic Central 20-7 at home.
Paint Valley quarterback Cavan Cooper finished 4-of-10 for 81 yards passing with two touchdowns and one interception. Cooper also rushed 11 times for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Paint Valley running back Dom Chambers led the Bearcats in rushing with 10 carries for 184 yards with two touchdowns.
Snapping a four-game losing streak, the Waverly Tigers produced a season high scoring output by defeating Lucasville Valley 60-7. In that win, Waverly scored two defensive touchdowns. The first one came when senior Peyton Harris scooped up a fumble and ran it back 42 yards for the TD. Then on the very next series, Waverly freshman Carson Peters delivered a pick-6, intercepting a pass at the 50-yard line to score the second straight defensive touchdown.
River Valley quarterback Cayden Shidone threw for 376 yards and ran for 173 more, plus top target Grant Butler caught 12 of those passes for 219 yards and three touchdowns in a 48-11 win over Marion Harding.
Northmor quarterback A.J. Bower threw for 331 yards and five touchdowns in a 36-23 win at East Knox as Hunter Fulk caught eight of them for 177 yards and three TDs.
North Union’s Owen Davis, a Purdue signee as a linebacker, ran for 187 yards and three touchdowns, plus added seven tackles and an interception on defense in a 48-14 win over Benjamin Logan.
Isaac Sexton ran for three scores as Southview rolled to a 51-13 win over Maumee Friday in Northern Lakes League action. The Cougars improve to 5-2.
New Bremen quarterback David Homan rushed for a school record 353 yards and four touchdowns in the Cardinals’ 62-27 win over St. Henry. Homan and running back Hunter Schaefer (119 yards, 4 touchdowns) combined for 472 of the team’s 476 rushing yards in the win.
Minster quarterback Brogan Stephey was 17-of-26 for a school-record 456 yards and five touchdowns in the Wildcats’ 48-20 win over Rockford Parkway.
Avon and Olmsted Falls combined for 15 touchdowns Friday night in the Eagles’ 63-42 victory that puts them in the driver’s seat for a seventh straight Southwestern Conference title. Avon also is coming off five straight state semifinal runs in Division II, but it put together an offensive performance for the record books. Senior receiver Ethan Holbrook hauled in five touchdown receptions, which just missed the Lorain County record set in 2015 by Grafton Midview’s Logan Bolin. He had six, coincidentally, against Avon in a 55-35 win. Holbrook finished with 208 yards on 10 receptions, drawing praise from coach Mike Elder in a message to college coaches. Additionally, junior running back Jakorion Caffey scored three TDs and rushed for 279 yards on 21 carries. He just missed his career high of 291 yards set earlier this year against Medina. Quarterback Sam DeTillio threw for 370 yards and six TDs on 18-of-25 passing. Meanwhile, Olmsted Falls senior Rocco Conti paced the Bulldogs with 240 yards rushing on 13 carries. He scored twice, including once in the passing game.
Barring a rematch in the playoffs, Lakewood St. Edward handed Cleveland St. Ignatius its most lopsided defeat in their rivalry for what could be their final encounter in Chuck Kyle’s 40 years leading the Wildcats. Kyle is retiring after the season, but St. Edward left Byers Field in Parma on Saturday with a 48-6 win and its most dominating performance of the season. Not counting penalties, the Eagles didn’t have a play go for negative yards until the reserves entering during a running clock. They rushed for 294 yards and finished with 371 yards in total to win their fifth straight in the rivalry. Only a 47-0 win in 1990 for St. Ignatius was a bigger blowout in the teams’ storied rivalry. Overall, St. Ignatius still holds a 32-29-1 lead. St. Edward has had seven coaches in the time Kyle has led St. Ignatius, but only current coach Tom Lombardo has a winning record against him. Lombardo is 6-4 in the matchup.
Lamar Sperling of Akron Archbishop Hoban had another big game. The Buffalo commit rushed for 237 yards and four TDs on 27 carries in the Knights’ 42-15 win against New York’s St. Francis. He is unofficially at 1,624 yards rushing and 25 TDs on 159 carries on the season.
Senior quarterback Ryan Kerscher of Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit threw for a school-record 385 yards with five TDs on 20-of-29 passing in a 52-23 win at Chardon Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin. Matt Natale, last year’s quarterback, held the previous passing record and remains tied with Kerscher for most passing TDs in a game. Five different receivers caught TD passes from Kerscher, led by Trey Bell with five receptions for 159 yards and Quintin Walton with four receptions for 111 yards.
Junior Danny Stoddard of Medina, already with more than 2,000 yards passing, added 432 yards and six TD passes to that with the Bees’ 52-38 win against Mentor. Stoddard had 314 yards and five TDs in the first half, while receiver Jack Wojciak had 188 yards and three scores on seven receptions.
Senior Levi Ellis of Elyria Catholic became his school’s second all-time leading rusher after a 130-yard, three-TD performance in a 42-13 win against Westlake: Ellis passed Bryan Thomas (4,083 yards) and is now chasing Al McKinney (4,789) in the school record book.
Dominic Johnson of Gates Mills Hawken rushed for 296 yards and three TDs on 31 carries in the Hawks’ 35-27 win against Berkshire. Defensively, he added 12 tackles and an interception.
Division I No. 10 Springfield bounced back from its only defeat with a dominating 54-14 victory over No. 9 Springboro. Bryce Shondelmyer led the Wildcats with a career-high 492 yards. He threw touchdown passes of 60, 37, 52, 33 and 45 yards and completed 22 of 30 passes. Wide receiver Anthony Brown caught three touchdowns and had five catches for 146 yards. Daylen Bradley caught seven passes for 137 yards and a touchdown.
Tyrell Lewis threw for 215 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns to lead Huber Heights Wayne to a 49-14 victory over Clayton Northmont.
Jacob Clark returned a punt 65 yards and a kickoff 78 yards for touchdowns to lead Germantown Valley View to a 49-13 victory over Carlisle.
Stephen Lauterbach passed for 325 yards and two touchdowns to lead Oakwood to a 30-27 victory over Waynesville. Max Parker caught eight passes for 178 yards and a touchdown.
Elijah Brooks rushed for 176 yards on nine carries to lead Division III No. 7 Bellbrook past Middletown Madison 42-0. Brooks scored touchdowns on runs of 72 and 61 yards. Tanner Stewart scored on runs of 40 and 84 yards.
Caydon Caudill carried the ball 45 times for 188 yards and two touchdowns to lead Riverside Stebbins past Fairborn 35-21.
Josiah Payne rushed for 212 yards and four touchdowns to lead Dayton Chaminade Julienne past Dayton Carroll 45-7.
Cedarville handed Division VII No. 2 Springfield Catholic Central its first loss, 20-7.
Quarterback Cade Houseman rushed for 203 yards and two touchdowns to lead unbeaten Springfield Northeastern to a 42-21 victory over Mechanicsburg.
Tavien St. Clair passed for 412 yards and seven touchdowns to lead Bellefontaine to a 53-32 victory over Springfield Shawnee.
Hunter Rose churned up 270 yards and four touchdowns, one for 86 yards, propelling New Lexington past Morgan 40-23. Logan Niceswanger was 22 of 43 for 231 yards with three TDs and Kole Searl caught 10 passes for 121 yards with a score to lead Morgan.
Josiah Cahill accounted for 310 total yards, including a 53-yard TD run, and Kauelen Smith scored three TDs in Ridgewood’s 47-30 win over Sandy Valley.
Max Lyall threw for 274 yards and five touchdowns to pace Tri-Valley’s 44-14 rout of River View. Ashton Sensibaugh corralled nine passes for 172 yards with two scores and Jayden Wallace ran for 162 yards on 20 carries and caught two TDs for the Scotties.
Brody Zemba opened Rosecrans’ 42-14 rout of Fisher Catholic with an 88-yard kickoff return for a score. Zemba also had 10 carries for 189 with three TDs and caught two passes for 56 yards.
Jake Anton threw three TDs and ran for another as West Muskingum downed Crooksville 35-7. Anton had 201 yards on 12-of-21 passing and Slater Sampsel caught six passes for 129 yards with a 46-yard TD reception.
Colton Conkle threw for 139 yards and two TDs and Antwone Johns had 101 yards and two scores on five carries in Coshocton’s 55-20 win over Meadowbrook. Johns had TD runs of 55 and 38 yards and recovered a bad snap by Meadowbrook in the end zone for a score, and Cadin Whiteus returned 70 yards for a TD as the Redskins scored their first win of the season.
Portsmouth Notre Dame junior running back Gavin Hart rushed for 180 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries, and surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the second consecutive season, in the Titans' 29-21 win over Franklin Furnace Green on Saturday night. Senior teammate Dylan Seison made six receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown, rushed eight times for 115 yards, and returned a kickoff 47 yards to set up another Titan touchdown. Notre Dame's win over Green also marked the second straight time that the Titans have defeated the Bobcats after the Bobcats opened a season at least 5-0. The other was 2018, as Green entered Saturday night's game at 6-0.
Portsmouth senior quarterback Tyler Duncan completed 20-of-25 passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 47 yards and a touchdown on seven carries, in the Trojans' 35-12 win over Ohio Valley Conference rival Chesapeake.
Waverly sophomore quarterback Mason Kelly completed 12 of 20 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns, and his brother and senior wide receiver Hudson Kelly made five receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown, as the Tigers defeated Lucasville Valley 60-7 on Friday night.
Findlay’s Ryan Montgomery, a four-star recruit who has already gotten offers from many of the top-ranked programs in the country, completed 20-of-28 passes for 292 yards and six touchdowns in the Trojans’ 48-17 win over Toledo St. Francis. It was the second straight week the 6-foot-3, 210-pound sophomore has thrown six TD passes, giving him 19 through seven games.
McComb’s Braxton Althauser rushed for three touchdowns and returned an interception 96 yards for a fourth score in the Panthers’ 27-20 win over Arlington in a Blanchard Valley Conference matchup between two teams who were both 4-0 in the league and tied for the No. 8 spot in the Division VII state poll.
Defending Division VI state champion Carey has traditionally been known as a grind-it-out, power-style of football team. In Friday’s 48-0 win over Mohawk in a Northern 10 Conference game between the Wyandot County rivals, the No. 3-ranked Blue Devils displayed explosive big-play ability, however, returning a blocked punt for one score, returning another punt 50 yards for another, and getting a third TD on a 61-yard interception return.
Lakota West quarterback Mitch Bolden was 15-for-21 passing for 340 yards and four touchdowns in their 37-7 win over Mason.
Milford quarterback Austin Hardin was 8-for-11 passing for 157 yards and five touchdowns in their 42-0 win over Walnut Hills.
Anderson quarterback Griffin Scalf was 20-for-32 passing for 308 yards and two touchdowns and added 49 rushing yards and two scores as the Raptors beat Little Miami 56-28.
Winton Woods running back Trey Cornist had 123 yards rushing and a touchdown as the Warriors won a battle of unbeatens against Kings 28-23.
Moeller junior running back Jordan Marshall had 138 yards rushing and four first-half touchdowns as the Crusaders defeated Elder 42-14 to win the Greater Catholic League-South.
University of Cincinnati commit Braedyn Moore had five catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns in Badin’s 42-14 win over Alter.
Fairfield quarterback Talon Fisher threw for 222 yards and three touchdowns and had 116 yards rushing and another score as Fairfield beat Hamilton 34-13.
Princeton quarterback R.J. West threw for 199 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 118 yards as the Vikings blanked Oak Hills. 42-0.
Week eight’s matchup will see one of the biggest turnarounds in a year’s time from northwest Ohio. Defiance will host Celina in a battle of 5-2 squads, a year removed from Defiance finishing 3-7 and Celina finishing 1-9 in 2021.
Led by 370 rushing yards, including 155 yards and a touchdown by Quin Burt, North Central assured itself of at least a .500 season by defeating previously-unbeaten Erie-Mason (Mich.) 34-14.
George Green was a big-play machine for Hicksivlle, ripping off touchdown runs of 69, 24 and 59 yards in a 161-yard rushing output for the previously-winless Aces, helping defeat Paulding 34-15.
Liberty Center standout Matthew Orr needed only a few touches to make an impact in the Tigers’ 49-7 rout of Bryan. Orr had five carries for the Tigers but racked up 235 yards thanks to touchdown runs of 60, 62, 35 and 75 yards in the first half.
Trey Parsons completed 29-of-33 passes for 316 yards for Wauseon, including 12 completions to Jude Armstrong for 141 yards, as the Indians defeated Patrick Henry 38-13.
Holgate QB Xavier McCord racked up 241 pass yards on just eight completions and 10 attempts, tossing four TD passes and rushing for another in a 50-14 rout of rival Stryker in eight-man action.